


The Psycho and the Nightmare

by Slytherin_Coffin



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Original characters - Fandom
Genre: 3rd person pov, 4th Wall Breaking, 4th wall is broken by Sam, ADHD, Creepypasta, I mean Sam is the son of Poseidon, Just Friends, LIKE EVER, Maybe a little out of character, Mostly 3rd Person POV, Other, PTSD, Randomness, Slender Mansion, Slow Updates, Work In Progress, You Have Been Warned, bromance between Sam and Alex, but shhh no one really knows, characters meeting up again, kinda sorta mentions Greek Gods, long time no see, minor torture, most likely no shipping - Freeform, no ships!, self harm is involved, this is just a fanfic with friends, what is the 4th wall even
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:28:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_Coffin/pseuds/Slytherin_Coffin
Summary: Welcome to the now hectic life of Alex and Sam.Both of them grew up together, they were like brothers. They both had abusive families...and they both killed their families.They have been discovered by the man with no face known as Slenderman, and now have to live under his house and his rules.They don't mind it, Sam has practically lost his mind while Alex just doesn't care, but threats loom in the darkness when one of Slenderman's enemy appears.Zalgo is out to steal the new proxies, but will he succeed?NOTETHIS IS NOT A SHIP ORIENTED FAN FICTION, THIS IS MERELY A STORY I CAME UP WITH WITH A FRIEND OF MINE THAT I WANT TO SHARE. I AM STILL WORKING ON IT SO EXPECT EXTREMELY SLOW UPDATES





	1. Chapter 1 - Meeting at Slender Mansion

Alex stared at the male in front of him, ignoring the static that swirled around in his mind. Though he was expressionless, he was confused. How is he alive? I thought he’d died… the male thought as he stared.

He shook himself from his daze, his hair falling in his face as he gazed at the figure standing behind his friend. As soon as he did so, he got dizzier and the static got louder but he ignored it still.

Sam waved a hand in front of Alex’s face, “Helllllooo? Is anyone in therrreee?” he asked, tilting his head childishly and laughing as Alex gave him a strange look. “Oh look! Somebody is in there!” he mused.

“Yes, someone is in here, Sam. What happened to you?” Alex asked, only getting a shrug from his friend. Alex attempted to ask something else but his attention was brought to the figure once again.

The faceless man seemed to stare at him, “Welcome child,” a voice said in Alex’s head, or so it seemed.

“Welcome...welcome to where?” the teen questioned, the demon in him restless.

“To Slender Mansion. I’m giving you shelter. You haven’t got much of a choice. You can be my proxy or I’m going to have to kill you for just being here.”

Alex frowned, “Well this is sudden. Not much of a plot build to that…” he muttered.

Sam laughed from behind him, who knows how he got back there, “Alex! Don’t break the fourth wall, that’s Deadpool’s job!”

The male ignored his friend and sighed, “Okay, so I guess I’m staying…” Alex said. His friend gave a cheer and in a moment, the tall figure was gone. Alex turned to Sam, who never seemed to drop that creepy ass smile plastered onto his face. “So...where in the hell are we and who in the fucking fuck was that?” he asked, not bothering to watch his language.

Sam gasped, “Did you just cuss!?” he exclaimed, acting offended. Alex just rolled his eyes and the blonde decided to answer. “We’re at Slender Mansion in the woods and that was Slenderman, but I call him No Face.”

The taller male rolled his eyes, “Okay then…” he muttered and decided to push past his friend. Sam let him, watching as Alex walked into the mansion, opening one of the old oak doors. He paused inside, his emerald green eyes scanning the opening room.

Alex took note of how orderly it seemed, a red carpet on the ground and bright lights. He noticed there were other people, but he didn’t take any time to talk to them. He felt the burning stare of someone else, someone that wasn’t Sam, who’d moved past him and was running to who knows where.

His mind was reeling, all of this was strange. He was crazy, he knew it. A normal person would be physically freaking out after killing their parents, but here he was, standing in a mansion with a bunch of other killers and staying calm. How in the hell was he doing this?! He didn’t know and he didn’t want to know.

The teen shook away his thoughts and continued further into the mansion, taking in the details before pausing and hissing. A searing pain had represented itself, his arm feeling as if it were burning. Alex pulled up his sleeve with a wince and watched as a symbol burned itself into his wrist.

A circle with and x crossed in it. Peculiar. What was even more peculiar was the demon inside him make his laugh mentally audible. He was going to ask why Akuma was laughing but the stinging pain that came to his arm below the symbol answered his question. Before anyone could notice, Alex clutched his arm and rushed into the nearest empty room.

Once in the room, which he noticed was a bedroom, he closed and locked the door. He leaned against the wall and slid down to sitting before letting go of his pained arm.

Marks formed in forms of cuts and burns. There was now a pentagram on the back of his hand, and a few other demonic symbols under the symbol that had first formed. That didn’t bother Alex though, what bothered him was the word Nightmare had engraved itself in his forearm.

“What the fuck..?” Alex questioned, his emerald eyes widened. The pain soon passed and he sighed, standing up and pulling his sleeves down. The demon in his head laughed manically.

“Look, it’s our new name! Ha ha! And the damned faceless freak marked us!”

“Shut up Akuma...and why did that happen? Do you know anything?” Alex hissed, pausing when he’d reached out to unlock the door.

He didn’t get a response so he sighed and walked out to go find his friend. 


	2. Marks, Explanation, and Treatments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex finds Sam and things must be explained between the two.

Alex roamed the halls of the mansion, unsure of where he was going. He rubbed his arm, the burning pain from the sudden appearance of the demonic markings had returned and it was hard to ignore.

He let out a sigh as he turned the corner, “All these damn halls look the same…” he muttered to himself in annoyance. He gave another exasperated sigh and continued to venture through the mansion. His emerald eyes scanned the corridor as he walked, watching carefully for movement or his blonde friend.

Of course, he didn’t find anyone and that annoyed him so much. “Damn it...Sam,” he whispered and rounded another corner, bumping into the energetic blonde he’d been looking for.

“What the-” Sam said as he stumbled back before beaming up at his friend, “Oh, Alex! I found you!” he exclaimed happily.

“Yeah, you did. Where have you been? You disappeared ran off before I could ask you anything,” the ravenette replied with a frown.

Sam gave a small, guilty laugh, “Yeah, I had to run from Masky, I blew up his cheesecake earlier!” he answered with enthusiasm, much to Alex’s dismay.

“I..I have no words for that,” the ravenette brought himself to comment, watching as his friend snickered at his response. “At the same time though, I’m not surprised.”

“You aren’t?” Sam cocked his head to the side as he asked his question, Alex giving a nod.

“Nope. You’ve always had an interest in bombs and such..which is kinda strange but that’s just how you are.”

“Huh, well, it was fun.”

Alex rolled his eyes at his friend’s words, though he couldn’t help the amused smile that tugged at his lips. “One of these days, that’s gonna get you in a lot of trouble.”

The shorter male shrugged and turned away as something unseen caught his eye. “What the..? Is the author making me shadows or something?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh..uh..nothing!”

The ravenette shook his head and sighed. He never understood Sam’s antics and now, it was just more confusing. He took a moment to think before looking at Sam again. “So, you were looking for me?” he decided to ask.

This caught Sam’s attention and he gave a quick nod. “Oh! Yeah! I wanted to show you to our room!” he exclaimed. He barely gave Alex a chance to process his word before grabbing his arm.

Something made him pause though.

Alex had hissed and flinched away. A look of confusion crossed Sam’s face as he let go and watched Alex pull his arm back.

“What happened?”

The ravenette shook his head and looked around. “Just show me to the room, I’ll show you then..”

Sam gave a hesitant nod before he turned back around and started leading the way. The male’s mind swirled with thoughts, many he could barely decipher even though they were his and others that were filled with worry for Alex. Having been lost in thoughts, he barely realized when he got to the room. He only noticed when he opened the door to the room.

Alex watched his friend closely, rubbing at his arm. He eased the pain away, but he knew his friend would worry. Even if he’d lost his mind. That’s what made him a little anxious.

Before Alex could decide against telling Sam, the blonde had gotten them to the bedroom and let him enter first. Without warning, the ravenette was pushed down onto one of the beds.

Even so, he looked around and took in his surroundings. There was two beds, one with a comforter that was a deep red, he friend’s favorite color. The bed he sat on had a navy blue comforter and was on across from Sam’s bed. The floor was the same red carpet as the opening room, and a mirror stood in front of the beds.

“Explain, now,” Sam said, his tone sharp and ocean eyes narrowed at his friend.

“I don’t know how,” Alex said, receiving a glare from the short blonde.

“How do you not know how to explain?! The last time you flinched when I grabbed your arm you were cutting! You promised me that you wouldn’t ever do that again! Damn it, Alex,” ranted Sam as he paced back and forth in front of the seated boy.

_Let me in, I can explain._

Alex flinched as Akuma spoke in his mind and shook his head. This caught his friend’s attention, he sharp gaze piercing through Alex’s being. He knew his friend was worried, but even he didn’t know why he was marked. The taller of the two sighed and put his head in his hands, deciding he’d let the demon in.

“What are you doing, Alex? Just talk to me. What did you do?”

When Alex looked up again, his eyes were black where the white was supposed to be, his irises a deep crimson. Akuma laughed at the confusion that crossed Sam’s face, the harshness and coldness of such a sound foreign to Sam’s ears.

“Alex?” the blonde questioned as he watched his friend’s body stand. Part of him knew this wasn’t Alex, but he didn’t know how it wasn’t. The first thing that popped into his head was the idea that his friend was possessed, and he jumped back at the thought, holding his his pointer fingers up in a cross in front of him.

Again, Akuma laughed at the gesture, finding it quite amusing. “ _That’s not going to work Sammy-boy~_ ” the demon mused, his voice deeper and distorted, unlike Alex’s voice.

Sam put down his fingers, hesitant as he stared, wishing he had a source of water closer to him. “What..who are you?”

The demon rolled his eyes at such a tedious question. Instead of answering immediately though, he rolled up his sleeves to show the plethora of cuts and burns over his arms that formed marks. Sam gaped at the sight, a look of anger coming to his eyes as he put his arm in front of himself and unsheathed the hidden blade within his sleeve.

“ _Calm down, Sammy-boy. Alex couldn’t explain what the cuts and burns were so he let me in,_ ” said Akuma, “ _I figured I’d explain. First off, the symbols and markings are to keep mine and his soul bond. Without them, I could easily destroy his being, and I don’t want that._   
“ _Secondly, I should have started with my name. I’m Akuma, the demon Alex summoned to protect him. And lastly, the word ‘NIGHTMARE’ is h..no, our new name and the Slenderman marking speaks for itsel_ f.”

Sam’s blue eyes focused on Akuma wearily before he let out a breath and wrapped his mind around the information he was given. He looked back at the demon in his friend’s body, “Let him back in, someone needs to at least take care of the injuries.”

Akuma nodded and simply sat once more, closing his eyes and allowing Alex back in. While this happened with them, Sam walked into the bathroom connected to their room and grabbed the med kit. Sure, he had a hard time feeling anything anymore and had let a sadistic nature take over, but if he still cared about anyone, it was Alex. Alex was like his brother, he’d grown up with him and they were practically inseparable.

As Sam grabbed the med kit, he also filled the cup on the bathroom counter with cold water. He had learned to easily heal himself and others with water because of his stepfather's abuse. So he brought the items out to Alex, who was seated on the bed, his head in his hands as he waited for Alex.

The blonde took a seat in front, first taking his friend’s left arm and examining it. Sam frowned, Alex..no, Nightmare’s right arm had Slenderman’s symbol engraved in his wrist and his new name right below it. The symbol was cuts, he’d had to stitch those because he hadn’t the water nor energy to heal the cuts, but the name he could easily heal to scars.

He then set Nightmare’s right arm down and took the left one to examine the injuries. His left arm had more extensive injuries, a few of them still bleeding. Sam’s ocean eyes scanned over the deep cuts, a pentagram on the back of his hand, ancient latin script over his forearm, and a sign he didn’t recognize. He then looked to the burns, not recognizing any of the symbols the burns formed.

After his analysis, he set Nightmare’s arm down and looked him in the eye. The ravenette’s emerald eyes were on Sam, watching him as he examined his injuries. The silence between the two was deafening, but neither of them spoke as Sam grabbed the med kit first.

The blonde grabbed the rubbing alcohol and had Nightmare hold both of his arms out. “This is going to burn,” he warned before pouring a little bit of alcohol over both of his arms. He steeled himself and ignored Nightmare’s hiss of pain and discomfort as he wiped his arms with a cloth from the kit and cleaned the injuries. It was hard for Sam to do this, he’d done it when he’d found out Alex was cutting and every time he or Alex had shown up with a new cut or injury inflicted by their guardians.

Nightmare grit his teeth and looked away as Sam pulled out a needle and thread to stitch the incisions. Sam gave another warning before he first started on the Slender symbol then moved to the other cuts. Nightmare barely flinched as he was stitched up. This process took about fifteen minutes before Sam put away the need and thread back in the kit.

  
“Done?” Nightmare spoke, breaking the silence finally and sound a little hopeful.

Sam shook his head in response, “Nope, I’m going to heal your burns then wrap your arms.”

The taller male raised an eyebrow, but asked no questions as Sam took the glass of water he had brought and poured a little onto the burned letters of the new name, closing his eye and holding his hand over the water and Nightmare’s arm. After a moment, the water seeped into Nightmare’s skin and he the burns turned to nothing but light pink scars. Sam did the same for the other burns and he was done easily.

“There,” the blonde muttered under his breath as he grabbed the gauze wrap and wrapped the stitched areas. “That should be okay, keep them dry and I’ll change the bandages every day to make sure they stay clean.”

Nightmare gave a nod and sighed quietly, “Thanks Sam..” he mumbled and watched Sam nod. The blonde male replaced his steady frown with that crazed smile once more.

“Of course! You’d do the same for me!” Sam exclaimed and looked around. Well, it’s getting late, we should get some rest. No Face may have a mission for us tomorrow,” he suggested, earning a nod from his taller friend.

Sam then stood and moved to his own bed and removed his hidden blades as he removed his sweater and boots. He then plopped down on his bed, “G’night Alex!”

“Nightmare,” his friend corrected.

“Right. Nightmare.” 


	3. Sam's Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has a nightmare. A villain emerges. What is going to happen?

( 1st Person POV, Sam )

 

  
_It was dark when I woke._

_Wait..woke?_

_Hadn’t I just fallen asleep?_

_Oh gods, this is confusing._

_Anyway, it was dark when I woke, and I looked around. An ever lingering feeling of being watched made me twitch, and I hated it. I looked around for the source, the bedroom was dark and all distorted like, but I didn’t care._

_What I did care about was the fact that Ale..I mean Nightmare, was missing from his bed._

_I looked around and stood from my bed, but the room seemed to spin as I did so, making me a little dizzy._

_“Nightmare? Nightmare, where are you?” I called out, my voice echoing in this distorted nightmare room._

_Ha._   
_‘Nightmare’, get it?_

_Ah, never mind, back to the plot._

_I got no response, and this gave a slight ping of worry. I was never to easily have emotions, and honestly, this worry I had felt was for the only person that helped me have emotions. Alex.._

_No.._

_Nightmare._

_Ugh, I hated it so much, this feeling of worry sending shivers up my spine, or maybe that was the feeling of someone watching me. Who knows..the author probably._

_I stepped forward, the padding of my bare foot hitting the floor ringing in the room and making everything seem like it was falling apart. With that, came a laugh._

_A dark, mysterious laugh._

_Not like the one that my friend’s demon had laughed. This laugh was much more..what’s the word I’m looking for?_

_Threatening?_

_No, that’s not the word…_

_Ah! I got it!_

_It was more maniacal. There a dark purpose behind that laugh that had made the walls and floor seem to glitch, like static._

_“Who’s there!” I called out, reaching for one of my weapons that I kept by my side. I was dismayed to find that I had no weapons. More so when all I got in response was another evil chortle._

_Though, with this one, the room seemed to fade away, the walls melting to the floor, everything just disappearing. Disappearing and leaving me in a white void._

_I glanced around, on high alert. A sort of ‘spidey sense’ was tingling, though I don’t think I’m legally allowed to use that term. There was something not right going on, and I need to figure it out._

_Taking hesitant steps, I tried to find any source of life, or the source of where the laugh was coming from. My steps turned to paces, and then my paces to strides. My walking had turned to running as I searched._

_There was nothing though, no villainous laughing man, no Nightmare, no nothing._

_At least, until there was something._

_I came to an abrupt stop, almost falling on my face but saving myself, not with my balance, but with a parkour roll. What can I say? Learning to free run came in handy._

_But the thing that had made me stop was in front of me. Looking down at me with red glowing eyes. There was no person standing there, not really. Just a humanoid shadow-like figure with red, glowing eyes._

_The form seemed to laugh at me as I stood, and I returned that laugh with a glare._

  
_“What are you?”_

_The figure seemed to cock it’s head to the side, almost as if it were confused that I didn’t know what it was. Even so, it didn’t answer my question and just stared at me._

_The silence was unsettling, but neither of us broke it for a long moment. We were engaged in a stare down battle. My eyes looking directly into those red orbs of the shadow man. It seemed neither of us would back down, but the silence was killing me._

_“I said ‘What are you’?” I spoke again irritably._

_This time, I got an amused, nightmarish smile from the shadow figure. It’s smile was broad and distorted, the thing of nightmares._

_“Your worst nightmare,” said the shadow, “someone who’s going to ruin your life.” With the words spoken, an unbearable pressure came about my being, and suddenly I felt like lead._

  
_I dropped to my knee with a grunt, struggling to look back at the figure. Glaring at the laughing shadow, I tried forcing myself to stand. This only seemed to amuse the other more._

_“I was right, you are a fighter,” said the figure as it floated around me. “A perfect proxy for me. Too bad your **his** proxy. If you were mine, I could let you live.”_

_The words brought uneasiness, but I still showed defiance. Struggling with the effort to ignore the heavy feeling holding me down, I forced myself to stand. My breathing was shaky and my heart was beating in my ears, but nonetheless, I smirked as the figure hummed with disappointment._

_“Is that all ya got, freak?” I challenged, huffing with the effort to stay standing as the pressure got stronger._

_The figure stopped in front of me, that damned smile returning once more. “You know..I was going to kill you...but that would be boring..” it then spoke. I raised an eyebrow, but any confusion I felt was quickly replaced with pain._

_The figure’s arm like appendage reached out and grabbed my wrist, forcefully yanking me towards it. It’s finger like shadows traced my arm and a moment of slight panic sent a shiver up my spine._

_It’s fingers were like claws or knives. As it traced it’s fingers up his arm and seemed to spell something out. Blood seeped past each letter the thing cut into my arm and I found it impossible to pull away from the damned thing._

_Once it was done, it shoved me to the ground and laughed that maniacal laugh. “Let’s play a game, shall we?” I tried to protest but found I had no voice as the figure continued to speak. “I wanna see what breaks you. What’ll make you tick,” mused the shadow, “what will make you betray Slenderman.”_

_As it spoke, an image of Nightmare appeared beside him, as well as Toby. If looks could kill, the shadow figure would have ceased to exist._

_It continued as if I wasn’t glaring at him, that damned smile plastered onto it’s nonexistent face. “I think I know where to start. But for now..remember this and remember it well. Whether I win or lose this game of mine, someone will be dying.”_

_My eyes widened with genuine surprise as the thing was suddenly right in front of me, it’s glowing eyes staring into mine sinisterly. “I am your worst nightmare, emotionless one. I am Zalgo.” Then, before I could say anything, there a stabbing pain in my chest, as if I’d been stabbed or my heart were ripped out._

“ ** _Zalgo_** ” _was the last thing I heard._

 

~~~

( Back to 3rd person )

  
Sam woke with a start, his ocean eyes snapping open. A shiver took him by surprise as he sat up and looked around the room. His blanket was strewn over himself and his bed, only half of it covering him. A cold sweat broke out on his eyebrow as he quickly scanned the dark room.

Nothing was distorted or messed up. Everything seemed normal, but something still tugged at his consciousness. He looked around again to try and figure out what it was. Nightmare was in his bed, sleeping like a rock, the walls and floor were in tact, nothing was spinning.

What was making him feel uneasy?

Sam couldn’t name it, but a stinging sensation got his attention. His arm! He immediately looked down at his arm, squinting to see what caused the feeling in the dark. He found himself recoiling as he stared at his arm.

**_Zalgo_ **

“No..that can’t be..where..?” the blonde whispered, genuine confusion nagging at his thoughts. Sam tried to recall what had woken him up. Tried to remember what his nightmare was about.

Sam shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, calming his breathing that he hadn’t noticed was shaky until then. He rubbed at his chest, over his heart where he could still feel a dull pain from the dream he had.

As he thought, he laid back down and stared at the ceiling. Bits and pieces of the nightmare that had woken came to him, but the most distinguishable was the voice and glowing red eyes he could recall.

“ _Let’s play a game, shall we?_ ”

“ _Whether I win or lose this game of mine, someone will be dying._ ”

“ _I am your worst nightmare, emotionless one. I am Zalgo._ ”

The words echoed in his head and frowned a little. Sam shook his head and pulled his comforter back over himself. He looked over at Nightmare for a moment, a determination settling over him.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you..” the blonde whispered to himself before curling up and falling back to sleep.

 

With Sam sleeping again, there was a dark laugh that was faint and emitted from the shadows.

“ _Let the game begin._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Two chapters in two days?!
> 
> Holy shit!
> 
> I've had writer's block on the story for two years, I started it TWO YEARS ago and now I'm starting to pick it up again!
> 
> Fuck yeah! I hope you guys enjoy this!
> 
> Also, if you haven't noticed yet, there is something that has been happening in every chapter. 
> 
> An underlying plot point is the breaking of the fourth wall. This will be happening in every chapter and mostly done by Sam. Pay attention to this, it will be part of the plot, it's very important.


	4. Mark of Another Operator

Nightmare was the first to wake again the next morning. He wasn’t really awoken by anything, well, accept for the demon in him getting restless. He was annoyed, but he ignored it as he sat up and stretched his arms over his head.

The teen’s emerald eyes scanned over his friend’s bed, determining that Sam was still sleeping. Nightmare then looked out the bedroom window, watching the night sky. It was still dark out and the trees of the forest around the house obscured the view of the early morning sky.

He took a breath and stood from his bed, stretching once more and ignoring Akuma’s persistently incessant nagging about one thing or another. Nightmare had gotten used to this by now, usually the demon nagged about what he ate, the fact that his body needed sleep, or sometimes what he read or watched. It was easy for him to ignore it, knowing the demon was doing it just to annoy him.

_“Why do you need sleep? Seriously! Sleep is pathetic and useless and..”_

Nightmare rolled his eyes at the demon’s rant, walking over to the window sill and sitting. He easily conjured a pillow and book, getting himself comfortable in the window sill. “Calm down Akuma..you are in a human body, without sleep I won’t be able to function..then you nor I would be able to do anything,” he whispered allowed, having gotten used to telling the demon this.

Akuma grumbled a little within his mind and Nightmare couldn’t help but give an amused chuckle. “It’s your own fault for possessing me,” he mused, his voice still hushed as he gazed out the window. He got no response, only silence and he was fine with that, it gave him a chance to gaze out and the beautiful sunrise.

The trees of the forest around the mansion still obscured his view of the sky, but he didn’t mind. Nightmare just focused on the sky, watching as the stars disappeared and were replaced with the pretty golds, pinks, and purples of the rising sun. It was relaxing, but there was something off within the room, and Nightmare had failed to notice it when he first woke.

Akuma brought to his attention, the demon almost forcing his way into control before Nightmare let him have it. With the switch of control, Nightmare’s eyes turned to the demon black and red they had before, but this time, Akuma didn’t smirk. This time, he looked around the room and waya from the sun rise outside.

 _“Someone was here..”_ he said aloud, his voice distorted as it had been before. Nightmare watched from the mind’s eye, curious what had the demon apprehensive. _“Near Sam..someone was here for Sam..”_ muttered Akuma as he stood from the window sill.

Nightmare highly doubted anything was wrong but he let Akuma have his fun. “Yeah? Who’s been here then? I don’t see anything wrong,” he spoke, causing the demon in control to frown.

_“I don’t know..”_

“Then no one has been here.”

_“Stop being ignorant, Nightmare! Don’t you sense the other lingering aura?”_

Nightmare was about to protest, but at the mention of another aura, he noticed it. “I see what you’re talking about..but how would it not have woken me up?”

 _“I don’t know? Maybe the fact that it’s near impossible to wake you once you’ve fallen asleep?”_ Akuma remarked sarcastically, earning a sigh of annoyance from the teen.

“Akuma, it’s not the time to jeer at my sleeping habits. Who do you think was here?” asked Nightmare, his annoyance mixed in with the perturbed feeling he had.

The demon looked around the room once more, his red eyes squinted as he tried to figure it out. He stepped closer to Sam’s bedside, the blonde still asleep and seemingly comfortable. Something else made the demon pause, a glare now set in his eyes.

_“It’s another Operator.”_

Akuma sounded grim as he spoke, the statement confusing Nightmare. “An Operator? What’s that?” he asked, knowing the question would annoy the demon.

The demon growled and shook his head, _“An Operator is someone like Slenderman. A being, demon, or spirit that can give orders to beings, demons, or spirits weaker than themselves,”_ he explained, exasperated.

It took a moment for Nightmare to process this, and the perturbed feeling came back. “Why would an Operator come to Sam? He’s already under Slender’s control..”

_“I don’t know..and I would look over Sam’s body but I can’t get close.”_

“Why can’t you get close?”

_“Because, the other Operator has marked him somehow.”_

Nightmare became annoyed, sighing, “And why would that keep you from going near him?”

_“Nightmare, think about. I’m a demon bound to a human and now an Operator of Slender’s power. Slenderman is one of the most powerful, if not, the most powerful Operator there is. Usually I am not repelled from other Operators but this one..is strong..maybe as strong as Slenderman himself..”_

The teen took this into account. “So..an Operator as strong as Slendy is keeping you from going near Sam. What Operators are strong enough to do that and if I took control, could I go near him?”

Akuma took a moment to think, looking at Sam with cold eyes. _“The only two Operators that are as strong as Slender would be the Necromancer and Zalgo..but the Necromancer had been defeated centuries ago. As for you going near him..I’m not sure, but you can try,”_ answered the demon. As soon as he finished speaking, he relinquished control back to Nightmare.

His eyes slowly became normal once more, the emerald eyes that belonged to Nightmare gazing at the sleeping blonde. He was apprehensive, unsure if he should really risk going near his friend that was still sleeping. He took a deep breath, “C’mon..it can’t be that hard..” Nightmare whispered to himself.

The teen took one more moment before walking towards the bed. The demon within him stirred a little but he managed to get right next to his friend’s bed. _‘What am I looking for?’_ he thought to Akuma, unsure of what he needed to keep his eye out for.

_“Some sort of other marking. It could be words or another marking like the one on your arms claiming you to me and Slender.”_

Nightmare nodded and carefully moved Sam’s covers back to reveal the boy burrowed into his blankets. He had to pause, looking over his sleeping friend and feeling a little like a creep. Even so, he ignored that feeling and looked for markings.

This wasn’t easy, considering the blonde was curled up on his side with one hand under his head and the other draped over his side. Nightmare sighed, not wanting to move Sam, his friend looked so calm and peaceful as he slept. “Damn it..why Sam..?” Nightmare questioned aloud, keeping his voice to a soft whisper.

After taking a breath, he carefully moved Sam’s from his side, the blonde still sound asleep. “He’s sleeps like the dead..I swear, he could sleep through an apocalypse,” Nightmare commented. He continued to careful shift his friend, rolling the male onto his back. His emerald eyes gazed over his friend, not seeing anything at first. He did a second glance and that’s when something caught his eye.

 _“There, right there, on his right arm,”_ Akuma spoke up as Nightmare paused to gaze at the arm Sam had rested his head on. Hesitantly, the teen nodded and gently grabbed Sam’s right wrist, looking over it and narrowing his eyes. There was letters that seemed to have been ruggedly carved into Sam’s forearm, and the letters spelt out Zalgo. Nightmare frowned at the sight, _“That explains it..it was Zalgo who marked him..”_ Akuma spoke and the teen sighed.

Of course, this was when Sam’s eyes snapped open and was awoken in an instant. His eyes widened, “Whoa! Dude! I’m not gay!” shouted the blonde, those being the first words that came to his mind.

The sudden shout of his friend made Nightmare jump back, emerald eyes widened with shock. It was obvious he hadn’t expected Sam to wake so easily. Even so, Sam leered at his friend then at the wall, “I swear to god, you stupid author, do not encourage the shippers!” he exclaimed. To his friend, he looked crazy.

“Uh..Sam? Who are you talking to?” Nightmare spoke up, composing himself as he watched his friend who glared up at the ceiling.

“The author writing our story!” Sam answered, exasperated and throwing his arms up in the air. “Now you author, don’t encourage the shippers! He’s like my brother, jeez!”

Nightmare raised an eyebrow at the blonde, his emerald eyes showing confusion. _“He really has lost it,”_ Akuma mused from his little space in Nightmare’s mind. The teen shook his head at his demon’s remark, watching his friend flip off the ceiling before sitting up.

“Anyway, with that whole ordeal out of the way, what in the hecking heck were you doing, Alex?” questioned Sam, now calmed after shouting at the ceiling and wall. His ocean eyes showed curiosity and concern, because frankly, Sam had no clue what his friend’s intentions were.

Nightmare sighed, shaking his head and letting his confused thoughts slip away. He became serious, eyes cold and hard as he gestured to his friend’s right forearm. “That. Akuma was making a fuss about something being wrong and took control to investigate.”

“Investigate what? How does that explain why you were holding my arm while I was asleep?”

“He wanted to investigate another being’s aura in the room. Akuma could feel another being here. He felt it most around you, but when he tried to go near you, he was repelled. You’ve been marked by another Operator.” Nightmare’s voice was grave, but it had no effect on the mostly emotionless boy.

Even so, he still looked down at his right arm, tilting his head as he saw the mark a second time that morning. “Huh..I thought it would go away if I went to sleep again,” he remarked carelessly.

It disturbed Nightmare how casual Sam was about this whole thing, his eyes showing worry his friend clearly did not have. “Sam, this is serious. It could mean something..you’ve been marked by two Operators, and I don’t think that’s a good thing,” he insisted, voicing his worry.

This made the blonde pause and look up at the ravenette, bright blue eyes meeting deep green. A sense of understanding came to Sam and his eyes widened a moment as he took his friend’s worry into consideration. “Okay, okay..I guess this is serious to you. Let’s go have breakfast and we’ll talk to No Face after. Maybe he’ll know something.”

Sam watched as his friend visibly relaxed, offering his usual goofy smile. Even so, he still didn’t really care about himself, his goal was to try and keep Nightmare as far away from whoever this Zalgo person was. He took a breath, a sneaky glint coming to his eyes, “Well, shall we go? I’m hungry!”

Nightmare chuckled and rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics and followed him as he rushed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“SAMMMMMMM!!” shouted someone from the downstairs, his friend’s laugh soon following.

“Oh boy..this is going to be interesting..” Nightmare mumbled with an amused smile.


	5. Morning Antics and Avoiding Questions

Nightmare found his way to the stairs, carefully walking down only to watch his friend race right back up the stairs. A man just a little taller than Nightmare was chased him, wearing jeans, a leather jacket, and a mask covering his face. The teen looked after them, watching as Sam turned a corner with the man in tow.

"SAM, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" the masked man shouted, the sound of his voice and Sam's laughter fading as they ran. Nightmare raised an eyebrow, turning away and continuing down the stairs.

Everything was the same as before, even the eyes on his back that he had felt before. Curiously, the male looked around, figuring he was in the opening room or something. Not many lingered here, the only two people he could see was a man in a yellow hoodie leaning against the stair banister, a ski mask type thing with a red frowny face hiding the man in the hoodie. Then there was the guy, maybe no older than Nightmare himself, standing in a doorway to another room. This teen was wearing a plain white hoodie with black dress pants, but that wasn't what was strange. What was strange was the long black hair, smile carved into the teen's face,and how wide his eyes were. Nightmare took a closer look at him, realizing that the other's eyes were wide because he had no eyelids.

 _"Well that's not terrifying at all-"_ Akuma commented as Nightmare averted his eyes from the teen. _"I like his style though,"_ said the demon, adding on to his previous comment with interest.

"Shut up," Nightmare said aloud, causing the man in the hoodie to look at him. The teen sighed, "Not you..sorry." The teen bowed his head in apology and turned the other way to leave this area.

Well, that was his intention anyway.

Instead of being able to continue out of the room, he ran right into the teenager that had been standing in the door. Nightmare stumbled a few steps, surprised for a moment before straightening himself out. "I'm sorry I didn't see you-"

"What were you staring at, punk?" The other cut Nightmare off before he could finish his sentence, his voice showing clear annoyance.

"What do you mean?" asked Nightmare stupidly.

"When you stood at the bottom of the step. What were you staring at? Me? Do I look ugly to you? You wanna go you fucking punk?"

Nightmare's green eyes widened with realization, but he quickly frowned in dismay as the demon in his head started laughing. "Shut up!" he said aloud, irritated.

"Excuse me? What the fuck did you just say to me?!" the forever-smiling teen practically growled out, grabbing the front of Nightmare's shirt threateningly.

Before Nightmare could clear his name, Sam made his random appearance. He came up behind the angered teen and threw and arm over his shoulders. "Jeff! My man! Don't mind him, he's a newbie and a little wonky in the head," he said, twirling his pointer finger near his temple and crossing his eyes. "Besides," he dragged out the word, his face becoming serious and the arm around Jeff's shoulder becoming a little tighter than Jeff liked, "if you hurt him, you'll just have to find an early grave."

Both of the teens with Sam looked disturbed by the his tone of voice, Jeff letting go of Nightmare easily. As soon as his friend was released, Sam removed his arm from Jeff's shoulder and his usual smile returned to his face. "There we go! You'll have plenty of time to rough him up if Slendy lets you train with him!"

Nightmare looked at Sam, unsure if he should consider him his hero or the cause of his doom. Either way, before he could sigh, Sam hooked his arm around one of Nightmare's and quite literally dragged the taller male in the opposite direction of Jeff. It wasn't until they were in, what Nightmare could only assume to be, the kitchen, that Sam let go.

"Alex-"

"Nightmare."

"Nightmare, right. Anyway, what were you thinking?! You don't go challenging a guy like Jeff on the first day!" Sam scolded, as if he were a mother.

The ravenette rolled his eyes, "I didn't mean to. He kinda just caught my eye. I didn't know he'd react like that! Then Akuma laughed at me and I told him to shut up but that guy thought it was directed at him." The explanation was half rushed, Nightmare waving his hands around as he spoke.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at his friend, and he earned a glare for it. "I see. Jeff is tightly wound, it's best to steer clear and don't stare." The blonde nodded proudly at his words, though if he knew his friend, he knew Nightmare wouldn't really follow that advice. "Anyway, lets get some food, I gotta run before Masky figures out I'm here," he said rushedly, looking around the kitchen.

As Sam went on a hunt for something edible, Nightmare glanced around the kitchen. It was decent for a place that seemed so grim. There was a little girl standing on her tippy toes trying to get a cup of water. There was also another guy in the room, no older than twelve, but he didn't acknowledge him and chose to walk over to the little girl. "Here, let me help you with that," he said softly to the girl, taking her cup. Curious green eyes peered up at him, and Nightmare offered a kind smile, noting the blood that seemed to trail down her face from an injury that Nightmare couldn't quite see.

He paid no mind, turning to the sink and turning on the faucet. He quickly filled the cup and knelt down to give it to the little girl. "Thank you!" the girl exclaimed before taking a drink and grinning gratefully.

Nightmare nodded, "No problem, kid," he replied back, feeling a genuine warmth in his chest that he hadn't felt for a while. Nightmare wasn't one who liked people, but he had a soft spot for little kids. "What's your name?"

"Sally. Your eyes are the same color as mine, I like them..what's your name, Mister?"

Sally's jumbled train of thought amused Nightmare and he couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Nightmare," he replied back after a moment. The girl nodded but her eyes seemed to brighten more as Sam came up behind him holding two buttered pieces of toast.

"Sam! Sam! Have you met Nightmare? He's nice, he helped me get water!" Sally exclaimed, moving past Nightmare as the teen stood. She pointed at Nightmare as she spoke, practically bouncing and radiating energy.

"I don't know, why don't you ask him?" the teen suggested, nodding towards his awkward friend.

Sally tilted her head at the suggestion, turning to look at Nightmare, suddenly shy about talking to him. She looked back at Sam once more before turning to Nightmare and looking up at him, determination in her eyes. "Will you be my best friend? We can play games together! I like playing games."

Nightmare chuckled, smiling kindly at the girl, "I'd love to be your best friend, kiddo," he answered softly. He watched as the little girl smiled brightly and bounced on the balls of her feet, her excitement amusing him.

"Yay! I'm gonna go tell BEN I have a new friend!" the little girl cheered excitedly, rushing out of the room and leaving her half empty cup of water forgotten on the counter. Nightmare gave a soft chortle, watching her leave before turning to his friend once more.

Sam had a calm, genuine smile on his face. He didn't have many feelings, but seeing the interactions between the two made his heart stutter a beat. The blonde looked at his friend, keeping the same genuine smile on his face, "I'm glad you did that," he said, looking in the direction the girl had gone. "Sally is a really gentle and sweet girl...she had it worse than you and I when she was alive. Well, kinda anyway."

The ravenette looked at his friend curiously, he hadn't seen such a genuine look from Sam in a while, even when they hung out before all of this happened. "She seems sweet..but I didn't realize she was dead."

His friend nodded just slightly, a sad look coming to his eyes but his smile remaining. "Yeah, her uncle had killed her after she lost his little "game". It sickens me to know what he did to her, and if she hadn't already killed him, I would have," he said, looking at Nightmare solemnly.

"What did he do?" asked Nightmare, not quite reading between the lines.

Sam simply gave a shake of his head, "It's not my place to tell," was all he responded as he looked back at his friend. It took a moment for Nightmare to understand what he meant, and when he did, he nodded at his friend. After, Sam's mood switched like the flip of a dime, and he was suddenly hyper again. "Anywho! I got you a piece of toast, it's the only decent thing in the kitchen this morning," he stated, shoving a piece of toast into his friend's hand.

The teen took the toast, raising an eyebrow at the other. _'How does he do that?'_ he thought to himself as he took a bite of the toast given to him. It wasn't his favorite, but it was something to eat. On the other hand, Sam seemed to enjoy the toast, but Sam just enjoyed food, so it didn't surprise Nightmare.

The two ate their bread in silence, but Sam rushed off before Nightmare could finish completely. The blonde had no issues leaving Nightmare alone in the mansion, after all, his friend needed to learn about the place on his own. He dashed up to the bedroom he shared with his friend, grabbing his favorite red hoodie and throwing it on.

"I'm lucky no one noticed Zalgo's marking.." he muttered to himself, pulling his sleeve up to see the scarring letters, frowning. Sam shook his head and grabbed each of his hidden blades, placing each in their respective places. One in each sleeve, one in each boot, one in his pocket and a special knife covered and hidden in his right sleeve with his other hidden blade.

He could feel eyes watching him but he knew his friend hadn't followed him to the bedroom. He didn't mind that, he needed to gather his thoughts and figure out what he was going to about his situation. "I've been marked by two Operators..whatever an Operator is..and this keeps my friend's demon from coming near me..which can't be good.." he muttered to himself, taking a seat on his bed and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"This is more work than I asked for.." he groaned to himself, sighing and shaking his head. Sam sighed once more and looked up at the ceiling, letting thoughts race through his head. "I'll..I'll avoid it. Maybe No Face won't even realize I've been marked.." he concluded, looking up as he heard a knock on the bedroom door.

He didn't even welcome the person outside in as the door opened. It was Nightmare standing there, gazing at Sam with curious eyes. "Do you always have to go running off?" asked the teen, a hint of sarcasm detected in his voice.

Sam gave a shrug, flashing he goofy grin at his friend, "Of course! It's fun to run off and make the author struggle with character location."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Nightmare raised an eyebrow, yet again confused by his friend's antics. "Anyway..Slender wanted to see us in his office. I have no idea where that is, so let's go," he paused for a moment, "without dragging me."

"Alrighty!" the blonde exclaimed, completely disregarding the last part of Nightmare's sentence as he hooked his arm around his friend's. Without a second thought, Sam quite literally dragged Nightmare out of the room and through the halls of the mansion.

"Sam! I said don't drag me!" complained Nightmare, struggling to keep on his feet. Sure, Sam may have been shorter, but he definitely had a lot more force than Nightmare had.

"I know, that's why I am dragging you," Sam mused, continuing through the halls before stopping at an old oak door. Once stopped, he let go of his friend, grinning deviously at him.

Nightmare straightened himself, glaring at the overly energetic blonde, though there was no real hate behind the look. "You are annoying sometimes."

"Awe, thank you! I try my hardest!" Sam mocked, laughing as the other teen sighed and shook his head.

"Let's just get this over with," the taller youth said, rolling his eyes at his friend and turning towards the door. He was hesitant for a moment, but he quickly opened the door.

The two walked in, Sam becoming serious and focused as the door closed behind them. Opposite of the door and near the back wall, Slenderman stood behind an old oak wood desk. "Come in children," the being welcomed, though the voice was only heard in their heads.

Sam leered at Slenderman for a moment, "Just because I am short doesn't mean you have the right to call me child," he huffed in annoyance, much to Slender's dismay.

The being ignored the comment though, seeming to focus his featureless face on the blonde. "I called you and Nightmare up here ten minutes ago..why weren't you here sooner? Nightmare had been here," scolded the tall man.

This made Sam pause a moment, his mimicked annoyance stuttering to a halt. The teen hadn't realized how much time had passed when he was in his room. His ocean eyes looked to his friend beside him, tilting his head questioningly. Nightmare gave a guilty shrug, "I figured you ignored him so I told you I didn't know where his office was to get you here," the ravenette admitted, looking at Slender.

The blonde looked back at Slender, mind racing as he could tell that the being was waiting for an answer. _'How did I not hear that? Come to think of it..I don't hear the usual static that comes with No Face's presence._ ' Sam shook himself from his thoughts, mimicking a nervous laugh and rubbing the back of his neck, "I guess I was too busy not listening to my thoughts?" he offered dumbly.

Slenderman shook his head at the teen's reply, and if he had a face, he'd be frowning. "Sam, I know that isn't true. Nightmare's demon, Akuma, has been riled up over something, and I can sense it. What is really going on?" the being insisted.

Sam racked his brain for an viable excuse, tilting his head back and forth as he thought. "I guess I've been a little out of it lately..? Like I'm getting a demon flu or something." He shrugged as he spoke, seeing his friend glare at him from his peripherals. "I honestly don't know."

Nightmare shook his head, he knew the truth but he didn't want to speak out of turn. He opted to watch the two, his emerald eyes focused on Sam, Akuma uneasy within his mind.

"Child.." Slender sighed and shook his head, taking a seat in the chair behind his desk. "There is no such thing as a demon flu," he stated, seeming perplexed and tired at the same time. "But, if you do not wish to tell me, that is fine," he decided, nonexistent eyes focused on the young blonde.

Sam nodded, glad that he was able to avoid telling the boss man what was going on. With the shift in mood, he dropped his awkward act and became serious once more. "So, No Face, what did you call us down here for?"

 


End file.
